What Happened
- Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma announced that Dausa and Karauli districts will now receive daytime electricity for irrigation in two blocks, raising the total coverage to 24 out of 50 districts in the state.
- Previously, 22 districts were receiving daytime power for irrigation: 7 under Jaipur Discom, 12 under Ajmer Discom, and 3 under Jodhpur Discom.
- Dausa and Karauli have received significant power infrastructure upgrades: 18 new 33 KV grid sub-stations in Dausa and 6 in Karauli, with transformer capacity enhanced by 128.95 MVA and 49.45 MVA respectively.
- 17 solar power plants with a combined capacity of 32 MW have been installed in the two districts under PM KUSUM Components A and C.
- An estimated 87,700 agricultural consumers (52,400 in Dausa + 35,300 in Karauli) are expected to benefit.
- The target to extend daytime power to all 50 districts was set in Rajasthan's revised State Budget 2024-25.
- The move addresses twin concerns: farmers' safety from nocturnal irrigation (wild animal risks, accidents) and the inefficiency of nighttime agricultural power.
Static Topic Bridges
PM KUSUM Scheme — Solar Energy for Agricultural Transformation
PM KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan) is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched in 2019. It aims to de-dieselise agricultural pumping, reduce the power subsidy burden on state DISCOMs, and add solar capacity in rural areas. The scheme has three components: Component A (decentralised grid-connected solar plants of 500 kW–2 MW), Component B (stand-alone solar agriculture pumps up to 7.5 HP for off-grid areas), and Component C (solarisation of existing grid-connected agriculture pumps). The scheme targets adding 34,800 MW of solar capacity by March 2026.
- Component A: 10,000 MW of small decentralised solar plants on barren or agricultural land.
- Component B: 14 lakh stand-alone solar pumps, replacing diesel pumps; MNRE provides 30% subsidy (50% for NE states and special category states).
- Component C: Solarisation of 35 lakh grid-connected pumps — excess solar power sold to DISCOMs.
- In FY2025: 4.4 lakh Component B pumps installed; 2.6 lakh Component C pumps solarised.
- Rajasthan's 17 solar plants (32 MW) in Dausa and Karauli fall under Components A and C.
Connection to this news: The daytime power availability in Rajasthan's 24 districts is partly enabled by PM KUSUM solar installations feeding into the grid, reducing reliance on nighttime thermal power scheduling that historically determined when farmers received irrigation supply.
Agricultural Power Subsidies and DISCOM Stress in India
India's agricultural sector receives heavily subsidised or free electricity in most states — a politically sensitive arrangement that contributes significantly to the financial stress of state electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs). Agricultural consumers pay far below the cost of supply (sometimes zero in states like Punjab and Andhra Pradesh), and the difference is meant to be reimbursed to DISCOMs by state governments — reimbursements that are often delayed or incomplete. The UDAY (Ujjwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana) scheme attempted DISCOM turnaround through debt restructuring and operational efficiency mandates.
- Agricultural consumers in most states get electricity at flat rates (per horsepower per month) or free, regardless of actual units consumed.
- DISCOMs' aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses — a measure of power theft and billing inefficiency — remain high in many states, compounding revenue losses.
- Night-time agricultural supply was historically easier for DISCOMs to schedule as it utilised base-load power not needed by residential/commercial consumers at night.
- Shifting to daytime supply requires additional peak-hour generation — PM KUSUM solar addresses this by providing daytime generation close to agricultural loads.
- Rajasthan's three DISCOMs (Jaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur) each serve different geographic zones of the state.
Connection to this news: The Rajasthan government's expansion of daytime irrigation power is significant precisely because it challenges the longstanding operational arrangement of nighttime agri-supply — solar integration makes this economically viable without increasing DISCOM losses.
Farmers' Welfare and Irrigation Infrastructure
India has approximately 97 million agricultural landholdings, many of which depend on groundwater irrigation via electric or diesel pumps. Access to reliable daytime power eliminates the hazards of nighttime field work — encounters with wild animals, accidents in poor visibility, and the social disruption of farm labour mobilisation at 2–3 AM. Groundwater management is also a concern: unrestricted free power for pumping incentivises over-extraction, contributing to falling water tables in states like Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. Solar-powered pumps under PM KUSUM, with metered excess-power sales, can incentivise water conservation by giving farmers a financial stake in not over-pumping.
- Rajasthan is largely arid to semi-arid; eastern districts (Dausa, Karauli) are relatively water-secure but electricity-constrained.
- India's groundwater is overexploited in ~17% of assessed blocks; Rajasthan has several "over-exploited" units in its western zones.
- Daytime power also enables solar pump integration — farmers can confirm actual solar generation aligns with irrigation needs.
- Approximately 87,700 agricultural consumers in Dausa and Karauli will benefit from this specific expansion.
Connection to this news: The shift from nighttime to daytime irrigation power is not merely an operational convenience — it is a structural reform that supports farmer safety, improves energy scheduling, and lays the groundwork for solar-pump solarisation under PM KUSUM Component C.
Key Facts & Data
- Districts with daytime irrigation power in Rajasthan: 24 (of 50 total).
- New additions: Dausa and Karauli (under Jaipur Discom).
- Solar plants installed (Dausa + Karauli): 17 plants, 32 MW combined (PM KUSUM Components A and C).
- New 33 KV sub-stations: 18 in Dausa, 6 in Karauli.
- Transformer capacity added: 128.95 MVA (Dausa), 49.45 MVA (Karauli).
- Beneficiary agricultural consumers: ~52,400 (Dausa) + ~35,300 (Karauli) = ~87,700 total.
- PM KUSUM targets: 34,800 MW solar capacity by March 2026; 14 lakh off-grid pumps; 35 lakh grid-connected pump solarisations.
- State budget target: daytime irrigation power for all 50 districts (set in Revised Budget 2024-25).